Graviteam Tactics: Zhalanashkol 1969

A mouthful to pronounce, a maddening interface, a users' manual that reads like the notes from the deathbed of a delirious warrior. Yet, the genius combination of turn and continuous time based game play, the un-compromised foundations of scale and tactics and the universal language of a good damn shootout it's what keeps me getting back to Graviteam's portfolio.

 Zhalanashkol 1969 is an expansion for Graviteam Tactics Operation Star. It features a border incident between China and the Soviet Union. The scale of the incident is so small an intimate (rarely a full company of soldiers is engaged at the time) that for the first time I know the names of the men under my command.

Can you walk the walk? A few kilometers wide doesn't feel small when they are shooting at you and the terrain is open.

Russian light armor train their guns on distant targets coming down from the heights at the Chinese border.

Russians packing up after the fire from the mountains peaks up.

The numerous folds of hills and escarpments make this area of the border a patrol nightmare.

If it wouldn't be for the alternating shouts in Chinese and Russian, I would swear this is the Malvinas/Falklands Islands.

The command and control nuances of this game will make you think twice about sweeping maneuvers.

Cheers,